Shahid Afridi, the former head selector of the Pakistan cricket team, has criticised Najam Sethi’s selection of Shan Masood as the ODI team’s vice-captain.
When the white-ball vice-captain, Shadab Khan, suffered a finger fracture, the PCB Chairman chose Shan Masood as the opening batter over more seasoned players like Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, and Fakhar Zaman who have consistently excelled in the format.
Masood had not played many One-Day Internationals for Pakistan and had not even made the starting XI for the first two games when the decision was made, just before the series against New Zealand.
In an interview, Shahid Afridi expressed his thoughts on the situation saying that the selection committee should have been consulted before making such a decision and that the main factor in selecting a captain or vice-captain should be performance.
Masood had not played many One-Day Internationals for Pakistan, he added, and there were more experienced players available who should have been considered.
The former cricketer also expressed concern about how this decision might affect the confidence of the team’s senior players, claiming that naming a rookie as vice-captain may have a negative impact.
Shahid Afridi Stated:
“Shan Masood shouldn’t have been announced as the vice-captain. Shan wasn’t in the captain’s XI for the first 2 ODIs, nor was he in my XI.
Performances are important. You can’t appoint a captain or vice-captain on the basis of performances for Derbyshire.
He had also not played many ODIs for Pakistan, and there were senior players around, like Rizwan and Shadab.
If you bring in someone who hasn’t performed or played a lot and make him the vice-captain, it affects the senior players who are playing.”
Shan Masood & PCB faced severe social media backlash.
After he was named vice-captain despite not even being in the starting XI.
Pavan Manzoor is an experienced content writer , editor and social media handler along with a track record of youth-oriented activities in Pakistan and abroad. She was selected as a fully-funded delegate as a leadership fellow in Turkey. She also led a team of 5 volunteers at the week-long Young Professionals Fellowship in Maldives. She is also a member of the Youth Standing Committee on Higher Education.
